Monday, May 28, 2012

Earlier on a previous blog I showed where I had plastered & painted over a glass cookie jar.

The purpose of the jar was to hold all of my ponytail accessories, they're pretty clunky. The problem with this was it was too light and didn't go well with the table I wanted to keep it on. I'm not talented like most, it takes me a while to resolve problems. So, I left it alone.

Last weekend I decided to see if I could darken it. What I was hoping for was something a bit more dirty looking with that worn out rustic, old world look.

I went back and dirtied it down with raw umber; and while still wet misted it lightly with water,this would cause the paint to run down the jar, and hopefully give it that faded, weathered look. After a few seconds while still wet I dabbed it with a cloth and once it was dry I sanded it in spots. Initially, I wasn't too sure how it was going to turn out and I thought it was a big screw up, but surprisingly after a few days of curing, I like it much better!

I love the crustiness...

I have this glass table in my room that I had painted some time back that I wanted to display it on. I rummaged through my fabric remnants and found some sheer fabric that I had used for my dining room window treatment. I cut off a piece and folded it over the table, then I adorned it with my junk jewelry.

I like!

BEFORE

AFTER

I've been looking for a cute basket or a decorative box to place under my glass table, but until then I'll leave it like this.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Then one day I decided to give it a paint job. I decided to use tissue paper for a decorative touch, the same as my petite vase. After twining and gluing the paper on the mirror in random circles I painted it burgundy.

I then painted over that with metallic nickel and then glazed over it with metallic statutory bronze, wiping off most but leaving plenty in the crevices.

Pending on the angel and light you can see specks of burgundy coming through.

Although this is a lightweight plastic mirror the metallic paint & tissue gives it the appearance of a counter mirror made from a heavier grade of steel.

Monday, May 14, 2012

I am the most unorganized person when it comes to mail. I seldom open usually don't open my mail until weeks or sometimes months after picking it up from the post office. Of course this causes all kinds of problems, several of my bills that I pay annually, almost lapsed, i.e. life insurance & home insurance. When I pay my utilities on line I always guess what I owe, I never know the exact amount until sometime after, once when I checked a bill I had a $120 credit! However, another time I didn't realize my son's health insurance had been increase by $30. I had to rush to bring the payments up to date to keep a claim from being denied...you can imagine my headaches.

What's the problem? When I go to the post to pick up mail I take it home, stack it neatly in or on top of my desk and I leave it there. Because I'm at a desk all day in the office, when I get home, my preference is to sit my weary behind on my sofa, I never remember think about my mail until later.

To make a long story short, I was talking to my younger sister Sharon about my mail dilemma; she listened for a sec and said "Why don't you paint a box, and put your mail in it and keep it in your Family Room. On Saturday's when you're relaxing drinking your tea, you can take time to open your mail." Duh, why didn't I think of that???

Luckily I had just purchased a pair of tennis so I grabbed the shoe box

I base coated it white; used brick red for the top coat

I transferred the letters MAIL BOX on top of it

Then painted in the letters and added stencils

Took my shiny gold clip-on earring (that I never wear)

And dirtied it with paint

It took me a while to decide on how I wanted to line my Mail Box. Initially I was going to use some lining fabric I had, then I changed my mind and decided on burlap. But then I remembered my older sister Teresa had sent me some items in a Whole Food Market bag. I had been meaning to throw this bag away, but kept holding onto it.

It was Perfect!

Boy am I glad I held onto the bag!

I didn't want the box to be glossy so I finished it off with a matte varnish and then added a belt just in case I wanted to carry Mail Box around from room to room.

Going forward, every Saturday, I'll be in my Family Room, resting my butt, while sipping my tea and opening my long overdue mail.

Monday, May 7, 2012

When I became a mom mydream was to have a cookie jar on the kitchen counter for my son to sneak cookies out of...well that dream never materialized because my son hated cookies. No matter how I tried, he refused to eat them. :(

Twenty-one years and still no cookie jar, well that is until I came across this

I know you're thinking, why now? Well, I've been wearing lots of ponytails lately, and I needed something to put my ponytail accessories in, when I spotted this I thought it would be perfect for my needs. Who says a cookie jar has to be for cookies...

I wasn't too sure how I wanted to paint it, but I knew I wanted something rustic.

I based coated using my homemade off white chalk paint, and then afterwards painted it using metallic blue. I later plastered it, leaving open spaces added streaks of cranberry for additional color, and then applied raise stencils. Here's what it looked like so far...

Although I liked it, I wanted something with color. So, I then played around with more paint to get the look I wanted ...

So, 21 years later, after the birth of my son, I finally got my cookie jar. It's not on my kitchen counter and yeah, it's a little rustic and a little old world, but it's a cookie jar!